Easy to play, intuitive counter to the sicilian?

Hey guys,

I hate the sicilian. I mean, I REALLY hate the sicilian. Quit the game after 1... c5 levels of hate. I just find it really frustrating to play against. I feel as if I end up in these awkward positions where it's just really hard to advance any plan. I like chess, but I'm a casual player and this sort of stress demotivates me to play. I've been looking for a tool to use as a counter. I enjoy playing the Italian Center Game, so I studied up on the C3 Sicilian (Alapin) as a counter. Same basic premise in both. I cared less about black having equal chances and more about being in positions which I was comfortable with. It seemed like a good alternative to the many variations of the open sicilian.

After a couple of years of using it in casual play, I'm unhappy with it. There are just too many lines where black can clog up white's gears. Sure, the engine says it's an equal position. But it's miserable to play.

Does anyone know of an antisicilian that is particularly easy and intuitive for white to play?

I used to play the Closed Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6) when I was playing 1.e4.  But it is loaded with theory and you would need to pick up Hansen's book "The Closed Sicilian: Move by Move", but that means studying a 500 page book - Not so casual now, is it?

I quit 1.e4 not because of 1...c5 (I actually love the Closed Sicilian), but I hate facing 1...e5!

The solution is to quit playing 1.e4.  I did that in May and have not looked back.  Since mid-May, I have changed to 1.b4 (which I also played in 2008, 2009, and 2014) with White.  In over the board tournament play, below are my results with 1.b4 as White since May:

Regular - 20 wins, 4 draws, 2 losses

Rapid - 1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss

Blitz - 7 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses

Total - 28 wins, 5 draws, 3 losses

Sometimes changing Move 1 is a good thing!

I’m with ThrillerFan; quit e4 altogether and never looked back. My dislike for theory and playing into my opponents preparation was the main reason for switching to 1. c4 or Nf3.

If you do insist on e4, the closed Sicilian or Alapin gives me the most displeasure. I pretty much take a sip of my coffee and kick my shoes off because I expect a long game that I have to follow thru to the end.

Otherwise, learn the open Sicilian. It’s super fun and the most testing!

With respects to #3, the McDonnell Attack/Grand Prix Attack and even the Wing Gambit are enjoyable and favourable for black because he has multiple strong replies and too much counter play on the queen side or centre via d5, O’Kelly, Katalimov and Dragon.

D5 equalizes on the spot?

@1

"I hate the sicilian." ++ You hate losing. Sicilian is usually played by better players.
You lose because they play better than you, not because they play the Sicilian.

"I end up in these awkward positions where it's just really hard to advance any plan."
++ Analyse your lost games and learn from your mistakes.

"I enjoy playing the Italian Center Game" ++ Good

"I studied up on the C3 Sicilian (Alapin) as a counter" ++ Good

"It seemed like a good alternative to the many variations of the open sicilian."
++ Yes. GM Sveshnikov even said 2 c3 is superior to 2 Nf3 and 3 d4.

"There are just too many lines where black can clog up white's gears." ++ That is in any opening.

"the engine says it's an equal position." ++ Yes, it is.

"it's miserable to play" ++ No, it is not. Just play it better.

"an antisicilian that is particularly easy and intuitive for white to play?"
++ Closed Sicilian 2 Nc3, Grand Prix Attack 2 f4, Smith-Morra Gambit 2 d4, Wing Gambit 2 b4, 2 b3 all are more or less reasonable. However, none is objectively better than 2 c3.
When you switch openings, you will run into similar problems, and you will lose more at first.
Best is to stick with the Alapin and play it better. Here are 4 example games:

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1922710

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1111109 

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1140426 

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1070874 

Play the open Sicilian, 0-0-0 and attack their king. Works against many Sicilians (Dragon, Najdorf, Classical).

@6
"Play the open Sicilian" ++ and run into 20+ moves of theory, that changes every day...

Because most 1200 players are theoretically prepared to the teeth and well informed about the recent theoretical developments in the Najdorf.  And if they get +0,7 on move 27 they usually convert their advantage without a problem...

I play the English attack without "theoretical knowledge" and do pretty well at my level (about 1800 FIDE).  In my opinion at the amateur level it is far more important to get positions that you like and understand than to worry about theory. 

@8

"most 1200 players are theoretically prepared"
++ It becomes an arms race: I know 4 moves, you know 6, so I learn 8 and you learn 10...
You study a book of year 2000 and I study grandmaster games of last week...

"if they get +0,7 on move 27"
++ It is rather +5.0 or -5.0 on move 10. The open Sicilian is that sharp.

"I play the English attack without "theoretical knowledge" and do pretty well"
++ Do you do well against weaker players or against stronger players?
Opening choice should be optimal against stronger players,
against whom you need most help.  

"In my opinion at the amateur level it is far more important to get positions that you like and understand than to worry about theory." ++ Fully agreed, that is an argument to play an anti-Sicilian and avoid the Open Sicilian or at least the most popular lines of it.

Here is an example: 27 moves of theory...
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2375387 

Impressive for ~1200 rated opponents.

@OP Play the Smith-Morra gambit. It is easy to learn and you have a dynamic position with your pieces developed very quickly.

@9: I usually play opponents my rating, but I've also drawn a 2200 player and beaten an FM OTB with the English attack. You might argue that I would score significantly higher with deeper opening knowledge, but somehow I doubt that this is the case. I usually win or lose due to some concrete tactical oversight. And I don't think it is different for 1200 players...   

There is one guarenteed way to avoid the Sicilian. Don't play 1.e4. But then you have to learn all the other openings. There are no easy lines in chess only opponents of varying skill. You only make half the choices and have to accept some problems will be difficult to solve. So analyse the games where the problems are see why moves work well or not and what problems the changes bring. In the end chess is a decision tree which you are trying to path find using only memory logic and foresight whilst under time pressure. If the games in the c3 Sicilian are to stale for you to revisit for a while try another branch and stick with it for a while so you have a greater understanding of the system. Manly lines have commonalities so it can only help your overall understanding of the game.

There are two really cool old books about historical clashes in the Sicilian, namely by Taimanov and Polugajevski. Plenty of ideas and middle game structures to be found there...

Agree w. Jenium: open Sicilian and English attack. Can't be more intuitive than pushing pawns in front of black's king.

I too would like a simple, intuitive line to play against the Sicilian, one that doesn't require any theory, but guarantees me an opening advantage. While you're at it, I would also like a simple intuitive line for Black in the Sicilian, one that doesn't require any theory, but guarantees me easy equality.  

And please hurry!

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. I have read every suggestion in full and given each suggestion serious consideration. Hopefully more discussion is to come, but I wanted to let folks know that I've been paying attention. I have a few responses to some of the general ideas I've seen:

-"The surefire way to avoid the Sicilian is to not play e4." True! And GM Aman Hambleton has a really great (and free!) video series on how to play the KIA. It's an attractive thought. I would have to give up the Italian though, and that thought saddens me. (Not like the KIA can't be a good backup tool though. I'm keeping it in mind.)

-"Play something really unusual. Yeah, 'Unusual' means that it's weaker than the mainline options. But if you are comfortable with the position and the opponent isn't, can they really maximize their advantage? Especially at your ELO." A fair point! I do want to stick to something *relatively* mainline though. I'm still trying to build up a solid foundation of instincts. Going with something really obscure would certainly make me comfortable, but I'd have concerns about introducing bad habits in my play. This one might be going a bit too far in the opposite direction for me, but I agree that it's a valid option.

-"Try the Closed Sicilian. Theoretical study is involved, though." I don't mind Theory, actually. Especially if I can find a chessable course for it, because that system works really well for me. I'll check around and see if I can find a course I like.

-"Try the Smith Morra Gambit." I'll check it out! Thanks! Of the presented anti-sicilians, this is the one I had previously heard about the most. So I'll definitely look into it further. I'm particularly excited by the comment that it's easy to learn and dynamic. That probably means that I will spend more than one game REALLY wishing that I were better at tactics than I am now, but practice can help with that.

-"You're not dedicated enough / you're just bad at chess." Guilty! Not sure what else to say here. Chess is a casual game for me. I *have* been getting better over time, but I am too old at this stage to dedicate a decade or more on intensive study. I don't like to lose - this is definitely true! - but hopefully I can find a middle ground between the two polar opposites of "Be a Grandmaster" and "Consider playing Checkers instead." If it comes to that choice, there ARE several other games that I enjoy which I could play. Hopefully, it won't come to that choice.

-"You were on the right track trying to avoid the complex theory of the open sicilian. Instead of switching away from the Alapin, study up on the resulting structures and become more comfortable using what you've already studied." A fair response. I'm somewhat up on the theory already - I can't go 20+ moves in both mainline and the 4-5 major sidelines like I can in Fried Liver or Italian Center Game. But I can do a good 10 or 15 into the 4-5 most common setups I encounter within the Alapin. The obvious weakness of memorizing theory is that I don't really understand the resulting positions or the goals that each side should have. In my other studied openings, experience and practice are slowly fixing that. But some of the big lines within the Alapin are still very awkward to me, and lead to positions that I'm not particularly fond of. I've received several suggestions on books to read (both in this thread and through PM). I'll be checking out those suggestions as time permits. If anyone knows a good move by move breakdown of the Alapin (as was suggested for the Closed Sicilian) please feel free to post it. I promise to check it out.

-"Try the open sicilian. Opposite side castle. Go for the king." This has to be the highest ratio of "helpful suggestion" to "fewest words." Just having that as a general objective helps a lot. I will be using this general guideline in every open sicilian game that I play going forward. I might not mainline the Open - my opponent will typically be more familiar with the resulting position than I am - but this single suggestion will help tremendously in any game where I just want to wing it without worrying about theory.

1.d4 

best anti sicilian ever

You are 100% correct. I am weak in tactics. I know this. I go through phases where I do puzzles daily, but my level of commitment to the game is not high enough to sustain me through my periods of disinterest. But still, when I DO study, I do try to practice my tactics as well. Just about every game I've ever lost (and many that I've won) had some key tactic that I missed. I can't expect miracles if I don't put in the work. I get that.
At the same time, I also want to be comfortable with the positions that I play and have an idea of what plan I should be using. The answer to that is probably "you are not high enough in ELO to have a plan. Play until your opponent makes a mistake and capitalize on that." That's a very practical way to go about it. I just prefer to look for those tactics within positions that I am comfortable in.

I think there are three anti-Sicilians that are decent and somewhat simple: Alapin, Smith Morra, and Grand Prix Attack.

Alapin (2.c3): The idea here is simple support d4 so that when they take with the c pawn you take back with your c pawn and get a big center. The two good ways for black to meet it are 2.Nf6 where you play e5 and get an advanced structure, and d5 which is a bit sharper. Every other move just results in white getting the supported big center. White will have to grind a lot of even games, but you cut down on theory a lot. 

Smith Morra gambit (2.d4 cxd4 3. c3): The concept here is simple. Develop all your pieces and attack the king before black can breathe. This is a good gambit (not a trick), but you have to be comfortable attacking and calculating tactical sequences. Strategically its very simple, and I don't think black has too many good options against it. 

Grand Prix Attack (2.Nc3 Nc6/d6/e6 3. f4): Cavemen chess you just come right for the black king. with your king side pawns. Objectively not that great, but certainly can cause black some headaches. 

The reality is there's no simple ways to attack the Sicilian that maintains objective strength. 

@23

"there are three anti-Sicilians that are decent and somewhat simple: Alapin, Smith Morra, and Grand Prix Attack." ++ Closed Sicilian is decent and simple: played by Smyslov & Spassky. Morra is not decent: you lose a pawn for some insufficient compensation. Moreover, black can decline the gambit and transpose to the Alapin, so the Alapin is better in the first place.

"Grand Prix Attack (2.Nc3 Nc6/d6/e6 3. f4): Cavemen chess"
++ There are 2 ways to play the Grand Prix: caveman style with 4 Bc4, or positionally with 4 Bb5, like a reversed Nimzovich Indian Defence.

"there's no simple ways to attack the Sicilian" ++ That is right: Sicilian is sound.